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Retail sales excluding auto dealers and gas stations totaled $560.8 billion in September, up 0.28% from August and 4.05% from a year earlier, the CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor reported. It marked the 12th consecutive month of growth, while building and garden supply sales increased 2.66% year over year.
U.S. retail sales rose for the 12th consecutive month in September, reaching $560.8 billion excluding auto dealers and gasoline stations, according to the CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor released October 8. Sales increased 0.28% from August and 4.05% from September 2025, with the National Retail Federation saying shoppers continued to spend despite pressure from higher gasoline prices.
The September figures show a modest increase from the previous month and a faster annual growth rate than August. The Retail Monitor reported that sales in the measure excluding autos and gas stations rose 0.22% month over month and 3.87% year over year in August. September’s corresponding readings were 0.28% and 4.05%. The figures are seasonally adjusted.
A narrower measure that also excludes restaurants put September core retail sales at $453.1 billion. That total increased 0.27% from August and 3.73% from a year earlier. In August, the same measure rose 0.17% month over month and 3.47% year over year, according to the report.
Sales in the building and garden supply sector totaled $44.0 billion in September. They edged up 0.07% from August and were 2.66% higher than a year earlier. The figures provide a specific sector reading, but the source does not give details on individual product categories or explain what drove the monthly change.
Growth Persists Despite Fuel Costs
The 12-month run of increases indicates that retail spending continued to expand through September, even as fuel costs placed pressure on household budgets, according to the NRF. The reported growth rates offer a broad measure of sales momentum, but they do not establish how much of the change came from higher prices rather than increased quantities purchased.
For households, the NRF’s account points to a trade-off: gasoline taking a larger share of budgets may leave less room for other purchases. For retailers, the organization says affordability, promotions and value pricing remain part of the response. The September report does not quantify how much those strategies affected sales, nor does it show whether spending was evenly distributed across types of retailers.
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How September Compared With August
The report was published by Hardware Retailing on October 8, citing the CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor, a sales measure released by the National Retail Federation. Its headline total excludes auto dealers and gasoline stations; the core measure also excludes restaurants. Those exclusions matter when comparing the figures: neither total represents all consumer spending across every category.
In August, both reported measures had grown month over month and year over year. September’s reported rates were higher than August’s in both comparisons: 0.28% versus 0.22% month over month for the broader measure, and 0.27% versus 0.17% for core sales. The source describes the September figures as seasonally adjusted, helping account for recurring seasonal patterns in monthly sales.
What the Sales Figures Cannot Show
The figures establish the reported dollar totals and rates of change, but the source does not separate the effects of prices from changes in the volume of goods sold. It also does not provide a detailed breakdown of spending by household income, region or product category beyond the building and garden supply sector.
The report attributes budget pressure to higher gasoline prices and describes consumers as focused on essentials, but it does not quantify those effects or establish that fuel costs caused any particular change in sales. September’s figures also do not determine whether growth will continue in coming months.
The Next Monthly Sales Reading
The next monthly Retail Monitor release will provide a further reading on whether sales growth continued after September and how the reported categories changed. The source material does not specify a release date for that update. Until then, September remains the latest reported month in this account, and the extent of fuel-price pressure on future spending is still uncertain.
Key Questions
How much did retail sales grow in September?
The CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor reported sales of $560.8 billion, excluding auto dealers and gasoline stations. That was a seasonally adjusted increase of 0.28% from August and 4.05% from September 2025.
What does the report mean by core retail sales?
In this report, core retail sales exclude auto dealers, gasoline stations and restaurants. The measure totaled $453.1 billion in September, up 0.27% month over month and 3.73% year over year.
How did building and garden supply sales perform?
The sector recorded $44.0 billion in September sales, up 0.07% from August and 2.66% from a year earlier, according to the report.
Did higher gasoline prices cause retail sales to slow?
The NRF said higher gasoline prices were absorbing a larger share of household budgets. The supplied figures do not quantify that effect or show that fuel costs caused a particular change in sales.
Source: rss
